Personal travel plans are being launched by the county and city councils to help reduce traffic congestion, improve air quality and boost sustainable travel.
Around 5,000 households in Glenfield and Anstey, and 5,000 households in the Westcotes area of the city will be targeted in the project, which aims to encourage residents to reduce their car journeys and use more sustainable forms of transport, including walking, cycling and taking the bus.
All households will be sent an introductory letter and given the opportunity to complete a travel survey. They will then have access to a tailored online travel pack providing details of a wide range of local travel options.
The information includes advice on walking, cycling and public transport, maps and guides, information on electric bikes and cars, along with several incentives. These include activity trackers for up to 50 residents, 20 e-bikes and 10 pedal cycles available for loan, along with cycling equipment and entry to a prize draw for high street vouchers.
This year, the project will be mainly delivered digitally, in line with government advice on Covid safety, although residents can request a printed copy of the pack available if preferred.
Personalised travel planning appointments with a trained advisor will be available to residents as part of the offer, and will all comply with Covid safety guidelines.
We're committed to supporting more people to make sustainable travel choices, and this personalised travel plan project is about us working with residents to give them the tools to make healthier choices.
Reducing the number of car journeys and travelling more sustainably has huge benefits to physical and mental health, as well as helping the environment through the reduction of emissions from travel. It will also help us deliver on our pledge to be carbon neutral by 2030.
The information we are providing residents will highlight the different methods of sustainable transport and offers available which will help us to tackle congestion, encourage active travel and help people save money.
Person:Councillor Ozzy O'Shea, Leicestershire County Council cabinet member for highways and transport
The project is a partnership between Leicestershire County and Leicester City councils, through the Sustainable Transport Access Fund.
Councillor Adam Clarke, Leicester’s deputy city mayor responsible for environment and transportation, said: “We know from our Connecting Leicester programme in the city that making improvements to our walking and cycling networks will encourage more people to use them.
"By working in partnership on schemes like this one, we can extend this work to further areas of the city and county, giving people more choice over how they get around – and making sustainable travel choices a viable option for people.”
The personal travel plans form part of the councils’ Choose How You Move campaign – for further details visithttp://www.choosehowyoumove.co.uk